By Jeff Greenwald
An annotated sampler of the East’s culinary high points, from noodles in Bangkok to aloo gobi in Jaipur.
Asia is an enormous place, but even its most far-flung destinations are woven together
in a web of history, mythology, religion, and language. Its cuisine is also a pastiche, informed by common themes and spices: curry and coriander, noodles and lime.
One good example is Burma’s signature dish, an appetizer called lephet thoke, “tea leaf salad.” The small heaps of ingredients (which can include garlic, sesame seeds, peanuts, chili, coconut, dried shrimp, and fermented tea leaves) seem weirdly discordant, but when tossed together, the flavors create something phenomenal – and bigger than the sum of their parts. It is, in essence, a culinary map of Asia.
Tea leaf salad may borrow inspiration from Burma’s neighbors – China, India, Thailand, and Laos – but like all Asian specialties, its interpretation of those themes is unique.
During the past three decades, I’ve explored some of Asia’s hidden corners and ordered from menus featuring everything from yak lasagna to crocodile wine. What follows is a sampler of my favorite experiences. Some are linked to specific restaurants; others were magical, but perhaps unrepeatable. As they say in Burma, “Thong saung pa!”Enjoy your meal!
Thailand: The Avenue of Pad Thai
“A city becomes a world,” wrote Lawrence Durrell, “when one loves one of its inhabitants.” A close friendship, in my estimation, is as good as love – and my great friend Annie, an artist who has lived in Bangkok for nearly 20 years, has turned that megalopolis into a world for me.
Annie is intimate with facets of old Krung Thep that most travelers never get to see. During a recent visit, she took me on a night tour she’d created for close friends. A ferry up the moonlit Chao Phraya River brought us to a waterside pub, where we gazed across the water at the illuminated spires of Wat Arun. After a few drinks, we crept into the darkened courtyards of nearby Wat Po, Bangkok’s most magical Buddhist temple. We prowled quayside warehouses where kumquats and mangosteens formed huge piles and explored the maze of the flower market, with its aromas of jasmine, rose, and orange blossom.
But the ultimate payoff came on Mahachai Road. Although it was nearly 11 pm, the street was filled with pedestrians – and lined with small, fluorescent-lit eateries selling one thing only: noodles.
Outside #313 – Thip Samai – a quick-moving line of locals waited for the best pad thai in Bangkok (and, therefore, the world). Piping hot, subtly spiced, and enlivened with green onions and succulent shrimp, the hearty stir-fried noodle dish is one of the world’s great comfort foods. It’s as good a reason as any to visit Bangkok – and a great way to fall in love with the world of Thai cuisine.
Thailand At a glance: Complex curries, prepared with herbs such as lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, and galangal (a local ginger), make Thai cuisine one of the most colorful I know.
Don’t miss: Try an aromatic red curry with boneless chicken or fresh local vegetables, and soak it up with an order of sticky rice. Coconut or mango ice cream makes a perfect dessert.
Doing it: Stay on the banks of the Chao Phraya at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok and learn to make red curry with roast duck, and more at the famed Oriental Thai Cooking School. Doubles from $299, including breakfast and one lunch for two. Cooking lessons extra.
China: Wok Happens
When I was growing up in New York, going to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant (China View, still in Plainview) was a family ritual. This is where I discovered the joys of stir-fried garlic shrimp, chicken with cashews, and pastel pillow mints.
It was a shock to travel through China 30 years later and realize the fare I’d grown up with on Long Island had nothing in common with real Chinese cooking. Though a few restaurants almost satisfied my cravings, most of them specialized in parts of animals that one might sooner manicure than eat.
My disillusionment came to an end during a minibus trip through Sichuan province, en route to Chengdu. Somewhere between villages, the driver pulled over to let the passengers stretch their legs. This must have been our lunch destination because several food carts awaited our arrival. One sold steamed pork buns; another, dried fish and sausage.
I gravitated toward the third, where a huge wok sat above a roaring burner. As I neared, the cook lifted a metal lid. Small trays held dozens of ingredients: garlic cloves, mushrooms, diced chicken, green onions, shrimp, peanuts, tofu, bell peppers, sliced beef, broccoli, ginger. I began to point. Each item danced on a sheen of sizzling oil, tossed in the wok by this expert roadside chef.
The shrimp and chicken dishes were the grown-up versions of what I’d loved so much as a kid. No pillow mints, unfortunately. Luckily, I’d packed a tin of Altoids.
China At a glance: Food styles vary dramatically from region to region, but my favorites are the spicy, chili-and-garlic-infused wok dishes of west-central Sichuan.
Don’t miss: Sichuan peppercorns, peanuts, and Shaoxing wine are essential ingredients in kung pao chicken, named for a nineteenth-century Sichuan gōng băo,
or palatial guardian.
Doing it: Absolute Travel rolls out the culinary red carpet for guests on an eight-day private tour in China. The journey begins with a meal in the home of a Beijing family, followed by a dumpling-making class. A trip to Chengdu includes a stop at the Sichuan Cuisine Museum and an afternoon of typical snacks. Departures: Any day through 2009; from $3,360.
India: Dining with Mom in Jaipur
When I took my mother to India for her 75th birthday, I had enough trepidation to fill the Amber Fort. How would she fare amid the heat and crowds? Would she stay healthy and energetic? Above all: What would she eat?
My mom is not what you’d call a culinary maverick. She has never, for example, tasted an oyster, a lobster, or a shrimp. She has never touched bacon. The fact is, my mother keeps kosher.
I needn’t have worried. India’s cuisine, like its art and music, is an all-embracing banquet. This is especially true in Jaipur, the fabled Pink City of Rajasthan, where the Maharaja’s black sedan shares the road with camels and rickshaws. Our vigilant guide chaperoned us to the hopping Niros restaurant, famous for its north Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisine since 1949.
Mom couldn’t indulge in the mutton kebabs or butter chicken. But – sticking to a vegetarian diet – she made equally delectable discoveries. Dal (lentil) soup, vegetable cutlets, and spicy masala dosas (enormous crispy crepes stuffed with potatoes and peas) became her staples, along with palak paneer (soft, cube-shaped cheese with spinach) and the sautéed potato and cauliflower dish called aloo gobi. We washed these down with fresh lime sodas, which soon became an addiction.
For dessert? Kesar pista (saffron pistachio) ice cream, only 80 rupees (about $2) a serving. “So it’s not Carvel,” Mom shrugged. “But I love it.”
India At a glance: Cumin, turmeric, tamarind, and ghee (clarified butter) are defining ingredients of Indian food, which is often served with pungent chutneys made with everything from lemon slices to garlic cloves.
Don’t miss: Chicken or lamb dishes prepared in the tandoor (clay oven), served with crispy naan and sweet mango chutney.
Doing it: Greaves India takes travelers on an eight-day private journey through the subcontinent’s flavors. First stop: Delhi, with a trip to the spice market. In Jodhpur, there’s a Rajasthani cooking demonstration and in Jaipur there's a feast at The Oberoi Rajvilas Hotel and a tandoor cooking lesson. Departures: Any day through March 31, 2010; from $5,300.
Sri Lanka: Island of a Million Curries
Outside the window of our guesthouse in Unawatuna, the setting sun framed an extraordinary sight: lone fishermen balanced on stilts, perched above the water like patient acrobats. As night fell, they brought their catch to the local inns.
Unawatuna means, loosely, “where it fell to earth.” The name refers to a scene from the Hindu epic Ramayana. The warrior Laksmana lies wounded; his comrade, the monkey general Hanuman, jumps over the sea to India, where healing herbs grow on a sacred mountain. Unable to find the herbs, Hanuman lifts the whole mountain and leaps back to Sri Lanka with it. In flight a piece breaks off – falling into the sea right off this coast.
That big splash seems to have frightened off all but the reef fish – and they’re not very exciting fare. But on the west coast of Sri Lanka they provide vital protein and serve as a vehicle for a wide range of curries. Black peppercorns, cinnamon, tamarind, and local chilies – along with yellow and black curry powders – are essential ingredients in these dishes. Add island-grown cardamom and ginger, local coconut milk, lemongrass and garlic, and the combination of flavors is infinite. The resident chef took our tongues for a wild ride. From sweet-and-sour to scorching hot, the dozen small dishes he prepared demonstrated that even a humble parrot fish can be an unforgettable feast.
The land once known as Ceylon is famous for gemstones, but its spices are equally cherished. It’s as if the island’s uniquely pungent herbs washed ashore from that chunk of Hanuman’s mountain, imparting an epic quality to every meal.
Sri lanka At a glance: Coconut milk is the common denominator in cuisine that’s by turns sweet, savory, or spicy enough to challenge the most fire-resistant palate.
Don’t miss: String hoppers are delicious thin waffles made from steamed rice flour and topped with any number of toothsome sauces.
Doing it: A seven-day exploration of Sri Lanka from Sri Lanka In Style offers feasts for the stomach (a market tour and curry cooking lessons through Amangalla resort) as well as the eyes (lazy beach days in Unawatuna, Tangalle, and Bentota). Departures: Any day through April 30, 2010; from $2,200 (cooking class extra).
Nepal: The World’s Best… Pizza?
To the sculptors, painters, and sages who once flocked to Nepal, the circular Kathmandu Valley resembled a mandala: a sacred diagram. Bowl-shaped, with misty peaks at four compass points and two rivers crossing its fields, the verdant kingdom in the Himalayan foothills was a playground for artists and gods.
“Modern” Kathmandu is a jumble of temples, shops, and billboards. Ash-covered sadhus beg for alms at cybercafes, and motor scooters dodge sacred cows.
Nepal’s national dish is daal bhaat, a lentil stew served with mountains of rice, seasonal vegetables, warm chapatis (tortilla-like bread), and a spicy relish called achar, prepared fresh in every home.
Daal bhaat is delicious, and I could eat it every day (many locals do). But few visitors go out for Nepalese fare more than once or twice. They’re more likely to be found in one of the city’s many Thai, Indian, Chinese, or Continental restaurants – or waiting for a table on the outdoor patio of Fire and Ice.
Opened by Naples-born Annamaria Wiseman in 1995, Fire and Ice isn’t just the best place in South Asia for Neapolitan pizza and Italian soft ice cream (softer than gelato). It may be the best thin-crust pizzeria in the world (a statement this New Yorker does not make lightly).
Annamaria uses all local ingredients – except for her soft ice cream products (imported from Bologna) and anchovies (from Sicily). Her cheeses, herbs, and toppings are all Nepal-made. The place is always packed, with a clientele that has included Bollywood stars, Sting, Richard Gere, Nepal’s royal family, and legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner (the prospect of a Fire and Ice pizza has provided motivation for many weary trekkers, myself included).
Food is a spiritual experience, and each lovingly thrown Fire and Ice pizza is a culinary mandala – a perfect metaphor for this ancient city, winking behind its modern mask.
NEPAL At a glance: Daal bhaat is the national dish, but its many accompaniments include roasted goat meat, chicken, duck, and various khaaja (snacks), such as chiura (pounded rice), samosas, and spicy fried potatoes.
Don’t miss: Down on New Road, small shops still sell a delicious local treat called gund pak: a cross between cookie dough and halvah.
Doing it: Travelers with a hunger for the extreme can join an Abercrombie & Kent trek to Everest base camp with some of the area’s most experienced Sherpas. After descending a staggering 18,000 feet from base camp, wrap up the 20-day expedition back in Kathmandu with a celebratory dinner – perhaps a pizza. Departures: Multiple dates, April 18 through November 4, 2010.
Cambodia: Amok in Siem Reap
The great Khmer empire built the enormous city of Angkor between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries ad. At its height, the complex of temples and palaces, shops and stables housed perhaps a million people. Today, the famous ruins abide in various states of restoration and decay. Some sections, like Angkor Wat itself, are buttressed with hidden joists and bolts; others are dissolving into the jungle.
Angkor’s star may have faded, but the neighboring town of Siem Reap is aglow. There’s no moss growing on these streets, which jostle with a constant stream of visitors bound for the nearby World Heritage site.
Cambodia’s cuisine is a skillful amalgam of its geographical and colonial influences: Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Continental, and French. During a stay in Siem Reap, travelers won’t need to eat at the same place twice, there are so many to chose from. I did develop an affection for a regional specialty called amok: succulent minced fish, prepared with local curries and steamed in a banana leaf pouch.
Every afternoon, or after a glorious sunset over the temples, you can discover another fabulously inexpensive local haunt and sample a variety of dishes: sour chicken soup with basil, beef in lettuce cups, sticky rice and coconut on a banana leaf. Cambodia’s cuisine, like its ruins, is often served with foliage – not a bad thing in either case.
Like Angkor itself, Siem Reap is slowly becoming overgrown – with restaurants (the popular Dead Fish Tower already has its own crocodile pond). But there’s still time to savor the charm of this booming town and explore the flavors of the former Khmer empire.
Cambodia At a glance: Seafood – often spiced with galangal, turmeric, and shallots – is the mainstay of Khmer cooking, an aromatic cousin of cuisines in nearby Thailand and China.
Don’t miss: The curried and steamed fish creation called amok is one of Southeast Asia’s classic dishes. Try it in a few different restaurants.
Doing it: Brendan Vacations’ four-day independent tour of Angkor Wat and the surrounding countryside lets travelers get acquainted with the temple complex – and the area’s culinary offerings – at their own paces. Departures: Any day through 2009; from $547.
Bali: Two Roads to Nirvana
Ubud’s luxuriant Monkey Forest is a wonderful place to wander beneath the shade of huge trees and marvel at how a single food – the ubiquitous banana – can be enough to please the most discerning primate palate.
For primates of human ilk, however, Bali is celebrated for its culinary diversity. Here, food preparation and presentation have reached a level of artistry on par with the island’s fire dances.
A short walk from the Monkey Forest, the famous Bebek Bengil (“Dirty Duck”) restaurant is the go-to site for tourists eager to try Ubud’s signature dish: local duck stewed in exotic spices and deep-fried. The restaurant, like many in Ubud, is an open-air veranda overlooking rice paddies, with flickering candles, fragrant flowers, and a celestial ambience marred only slightly by the arrival of the next package tour bus.
For a more down-to-earth (and heart-healthy) taste of modern Bali, the lesser-known Sari Organik restaurant lies ten minutes from town, along Ubud’s enchanting Rice Field Walk. Started by an Israeli expatriate, Oded, this homespun farm/restaurant grows its own organic greens, fruits, and rice (even the utensils and soap are biodegradable). Oded practices Fair Trade, which means that farmers sell directly to him. At present, 15 families are supported by the farm.
The food is delicious, the view is gorgeous, and guests have the satisfaction of knowing that – unlike some creatures in Ubud – they have evolved beyond bananas.
Bali At a glance: Traditional Balinese food centers around nasi (rice) and pork, but centuries of trading and tourism have inspired menus that draw from every culture in the world.
Don’t miss: A couple of (literally) cool dishes: Indonesia’s signature gado-gado (a vegetable salad dressed with peanut sauce) and the island’s amazing avocado smoothies.
Doing it: Experience Bali’s culinary pleasures on a nine-day Backroads’ cycling trip with a hike through rice paddies, a tasting of local fruits, and a cooking class. Departures: Multiple dates through December 29, 2010; from $3,698.
Vietnam: Snake Wine and Water Puppets
Vietnamese music can be mesmerizing – especially when the ancient, single-stringed dan bau is played beside a stage made entirely of water.
Travelers visiting Hanoi are duty-bound to attend a performance at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, on the edge of scenic Hoan Kiem Lake. Colorful lacquered puppets, controlled by unseen hands, cavort upon a mercurial surface. Ducks, frogs, and horses dive and reappear, enacting scenes from Vietnamese folklore before disappearing below. Most of the vignettes are brief slapstick, but the evening’s finale – the “Dance of the Four Magic Animals,” featuring a dragon, unicorn, turtle, and phoenix – has a storybook sweetness right out of classic Walt Disney.
The Vietnamese infatuation with animals extends beyond the kitchen. In the labyrinthine lanes of the Old Quarter, sidewalk vendors sell baked sparrows and bowls of rice noodles heaped with barbecued pork and crab. Poisonous snakes marinate in bottles filled with rice wine, adding their diluted venom to Asia’s endless virility potions.
It’s a sometimes luscious, sometimes off-putting cuisine – and the best place to make sense of it is at Highway4: a group of newish restaurants named for the road that winds along the Chinese-Vietnamese border. Each location in Hanoi features a vast entree menu, traditional Vietnamese liquors (including snake wine), and a lively, inclusive ambience.
While more conservative eaters might prefer to dine on chicken with cashews and fresh seafood spring rolls, adventurous diners can sample crocodile fillet with ginger, crickets roasted with tamarind, or (not recommended) grilled skewers of wild horse. So far, at least, none of the Four Magic Animals have found their way onto the menu.
Vietnam at a glance: Simple, fresh ingredients (such as cilantro, carrots, rice paper, and noodles), grilled meats, and hot dipping sauces define this delicious, quickly prepared cuisine.
Don’t miss: Fresh spring rolls with shrimp and Vietnamese-style drip coffee (or a Hanoi beer) along the banks of scenic Hoan Kiem Lake.
Doing it: See Vietnam by bicycle on Butterfield & Robinson’s 11-day journey through the country. Mouthwatering interludes include sampling smoked duck salad at Le Rabelais restaurant in Da Lat, dining with descendants of the royal family at their home in Hue, and a cooking class in Hoi An. Departures: Multiple dates, November 11, 2009, through December 22, 2010, from $6,995.